Target illuminator

ABSTRACT

A target illuminator including a turret with an illumination source boresighted in a line of sight and duplicate apparatus for rotating the line of sight in azimuth and elevation without starting friction disposed between a pedestal and a head and the head and the turret, generally described as a pair of components with an axis normal to one thereof, beveled rotational members journaled in axial cruciform relation on the other of the components, a pair of beveled rings journaled on the other component for opposed engagement with the rotational members and corresponding motors disposed for opposite rotations of the rings for relative rotations of the components responsive to differences in the rotational speeds of the pairs of motors. A worm and wheel are secured between one of the apparatus and the turret for the vertical displacement of the line of sight.

United States Patent [191 Smith et al.

[ Apr. 9, 1974 1 i TARGET ILLUMINATOR The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army, Washington, DC.

[22] Filed: July 20, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 273,557

[73] Assignee:

[52] US. Cl 240/61, 33/241, 240/44.2, 240/61.l3

[51] Int. Cl..... F2lm l/00, F2lv-19/02, F21v 21/14 [58] Field of Search 240/61, 61.11, 61.13, 44.2; 352/243; 74/271 XY, 675; 37/241 VanInwagen 240/61 2,745,297 5/1956 Andrus 74/675 X Primary Examiner-Joseph F. Peters, Jr.

Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Edward J. Kelly; Herbert Berl; William P. Murphey 5 7] ABSTRACT A target illuminator including a turret with an illumination source boresighted in a line of sight and duplicate apparatus for rotating the line of sight in azimuth and elevation without starting friction disposed between a pedestal and a head and the head and the turret, generally described as a pair of components with an axis normal to one thereof, beveled rotational members joumaled in axial cruciform relation on the other of the components, a pair of beveled rings journaled on the other component for opposed engagement with the rotational members and corresponding motors disposed for opposite rotations of the rings for relative rotations of the componentsresponsive to differenc es in the rotational speeds of the pairs of motors. A worm and wheel are secured between one of the apparatus and the turret for the vertical displacement of the line of sight.

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 91914 SHEET 2 0F 4 PATENTEDAPR 91914 V 3803399 SHEET 3 0F 4 FIG. 4

MTENIEDAPR Q1914 3.803399 SHEEI it Of 4 r\ N I 62 %PLIFIER 0w AMP ER VARIABLE SPEED MOTOR TACHOME R FIG. 6

TARGET ILLUMINATOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Identification and illumination of targets in a field of view cluttered with objects of similar size and shape has long been a problem. Efforts to solve the problem by electronic means have been unsuccessful since the areas illuminated by radar means spread as the square of the range.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The structure of this invention employs oppositely rotatable motors operated by a joystick for angular displacement of a line-of-sight in azimuth and elevation without motor starting friction and a laser provides an area of illumination of a target limited to a diameter of two feet within a range of 10,000 feet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partly cut away elevation of the preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partly cut away view along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partly cut away view along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view along line'5-5 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic of the speed control circuit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A target illuminator 11 includes a pedestal 13 with a head 15 thereon disposed for rotation about axis 17, a turret 18 with a tube 19, including a line-of-sight 21, and a laser 23 producing an output beam bore-sighted in line-of-sight 21 for illumination of targets. Turret 18 is journaled for elevation rotation of line-of-sight 21 around horizontal axis 25.

Illuminator 11 includes duplicate apparatus for rotation of line of sight 21 in azimuth and elevation without starting friction disposed between pedestal 13 and head 15 and between head 15 and turret 18. The azimuth and elevation rotation apparatus each includes a shaft 27 respectively normal to and rotatable in pedestal 13 and head 15. Members 30 are disposed for rotation on arms 29 secured in cruciform relation on shaft 27. Rings 35 and 37 are journaled on shaft 27 for opposed beveled engagement with members 30 and corresponding motors 3 l and 33 are disposed on head 15 for opposite rotations of rings 35 and 37 to produce reversible rotations of shaft27 responsive to differences in the motor speeds. A worm 49 and wheel 50 are disposed between the turret and the appropriate apparatus for vertical displacement of the line of sight.

An actuator 51, wire connected to illuminator 11 includes a joystick 53 for control of deflections of line-ofsight 21. Operation of joystick 53 left and right respectively controls the rate and direction of azimuth displacement while forward and rearward operation con-- Equal rotational speeds of motors 31 and 33 product zero azimuth rotation of line-of-sight 21. Motor 31 is synchronous to provide a stable reference speed for operation without hunting of line-of-sight 21. The speed of motor 33 is increased or decreased to produce opposite rotations of line-of-sight 21.

Motor 31 is provided with a high inertial capacity and signals from joystick 53 and tachometer generator 61 are summed in amplifier'62 and fed through amplifiers 63 and 65 to operate motor 33. A grounded resistancecapacitor circuit 67 is connected in parallel with amplifier 63 to limit the effect of sudden excessive demands for changes in rotation speeds from joystick 53.

Actuator 51 is provided with a trigger switch 69 to control laser 23 for illumination of the target while tracking. Laser 23 is selected to provide a beam diameter limited to 2 feet in a 10,000 foot range to provide selective illumination of a target such as a tank in a background of similar objects.

We claim:

1. Apparatus comprising a component and a shaft in journaled relation with the axis thereof in normal relation with said component; arms disposed in axial cruciform relation on said shaft; members rotatable on said arms; a pair of rings journaled on said shaft with said rings disposed for opposed beveled engagement with said rotatable members, and a pair of motors disposed on said component in respective driving engagement with said rings for continuous opposite rotations thereof and starting frictionless reversible rotations of said shaft responsive to differences in the rotational speeds of said motors.

2. A target illuminator comprising:

a pedestal and a head with respective vertical and horizontal axes; and a turret including a tracking line with a source of laser illumination boresighted therein; and

a pair of apparatus as in claim 1 with each said component thereof respectively secured in said pedestal and said head and the axes of the apparatus respectively coincident with the vertical and horizontal axes for corresponding rotations of said tracking line about said vertical and horizontal axes for tracking illumination of the target.

3. A target illuminator as in claim 2 with each of said motor pairs including a synchronous motor; a tachometer generator operated by the other motor of said pair and a compensation network feedback connected to limit the speed of said other motor for operation within the capacity of said synchronous motor.

4. A target illuminator as in claim 3 with a joystick connected to the compensation network for operation in normal directions respectively to control the speeds of the other vertical and horizontal motors. 

1. Apparatus comprising a component and a shaft in journaled relation with the axis thereof in normal relation with said component; arms disposed in axial cruciform relation on said shaft; members rotatable on said arms; a pair of rings journaled on said shaft with said rings disposed for opposed beveled engagement with said rotatable members, and a pair of motors disposed on said component in respective driving engagement with said rings for continuous opposite rotations thereof and starting frictionless reversible rotations of said shaft responsive to differences in the rotational speeds of said motors.
 2. A target illuminator comprising: a pedestal and a head with respective vertical and horizontal axes; and a turret including a tracking line with a source of laser illumination boresighted therein; and a pair of apparatus as in claim 1 with each said component thereof respectively secured in said pedestal and said head and the axes of the apparatus respectively coincident with the vertical and horizontal axes for corresponding rotations of said tracking line about said vertical and horizontal axes for tracking illumination of the target.
 3. A target illuminator as in claim 2 with each of said motor pairs including a synchronous motor; a tachometer generator operated by the other motor of said pair and a compensation network feedback connected to limit the speed of said other motor for operation within the capacity of said synchronous motor.
 4. A target illuminator as in claim 3 with a joystick connected to the compensation network for operation in normal directions respectively to control the speeds of the other vertical and horizontal motors. 